Food cooking and eating – stories and ideas from a passionate foodie

Sometimes you can plan these things. We were away for a long weekend. A quick croissant for breakfast, then out doing touristy things in Devon. So, a pub lunch beckons? Yes, an idyllic Friday lunch – and as a working person, I still get a buzz out of having lunch out. It does feel sybaritic and rather naughty, don’t you think?

But here’s the rub. We knew we were going to have a splendid Chinese banquet in the evening. Snack level for lunch – an obvious idea. I don’t know about you, but my normal working lunch tends to be sandwich based, and so the thought of a sandwich when you are “off” really does pale. Yes, you can go the soup route, and we were both considering that. But then the menu had something unusual on it at The East Dart Hotel, at Postbridge on Dartmoor. Three starters between us was a choice we have made before. But then we spied the children’s section which had the addendum “Children and for those with small appetites”. Whoopee! Result! And quite a choice. Chips featured widely, as you might expect, with fish fingers and beans, egg and beans (gosh, a vegetarian option!), ham and egg, sausage and beans or peas and scampi. Washed down with a small glass of white or his or her own locally brewed east Dart Bitter (low percent and brewed for strong flavour), we really were onto a winner.

They do an old-fashioned carvery with a choice of 3 meats or a nut roast, and a custard led pudding. Guess where we are going on Sunday?